The following question stood upon the Order Paper in, the name of Sir AUSTEN CHAMBERLAIN:61. To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the yield of each of the land taxes imposed by the Finance Act, 1909–10; the date of their imposition; the date of their repeal; and what was the cost of their collection during this period?
§ Sir A. CHAMBERLAINThere is a mistake in the wording of the question, possibly owing to my [...]ad handwriting. I intended to ask the yield of each of the taxes from the date of their imposition to the date of their repeal.
§ Mr. PETHICK-LAWRENCEThe duties on Land Values under the Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910, which was passed into law on 29th April, 1910, were the Increment Value Duty, the Reversion Duty, the Undeveloped Land Duty and the Mineral Rights Duty. The Mineral Rights Duty is still in force: the other duties were repealed by the Finance Act, 1920.
The yield of the repealed duties, the greater part of which was repaid under the provisions of the Finance Act, 1920, was as follows:—
The net receipt from the Mineral Rights Duty up to 31st March last, was £5,816,000.
£ Increment Value Duty … 648,000 Reversion Duty … 279,000 Undeveloped Land Duty … 412,000 I regret that I cannot give the cost of collection of the Land Value Duties as the cost of the Inland Revenue Department cannot be divided between expenditure in connection with the Land Values Duties and expenditure arising from the other functions of that Department.
§ Sir A. CHAMBERLAINAt the time of the repeal did not the Inland Revenue Department supply to the then Chancellor of the Exchequer an estimate of the cost of the collection, and could not that estimate be recovered from the archives of the Department?
§ Mr. MacLARENBefore a reply is made to the question—
§ Mr. SPEAKERI think we had better have the reply first.
§ Mr. PETHICK-LAWRENCEI cannot answer the question without notice.
§ Sir A. CHAMBERLAINWill the Financial Secretary be good enough to see if he can obtain that information for me? My recollection is that it was supplied to me as Chancellor of the Exchequer, and I believe it was given by me to the House.
§ Mr. MacLARENIf the Financial Secretary gives the information that is being asked for, will he clearly keep in mind the fact that the only real land tax in all these taxes was the Undeveloped Land Tax?
§ Mr. SPEAKERSir Frederick Hall.
§ Sir HERBERT SAMUELrose—
§ Mr. SPEAKERIf the right hon. Member for Darwen (Sir H. Samuel) wants to ask a supplementary question, he can do so.
§ Sir H. SAMUELCan the Financial Secretary say whether there is any estimate in the Treasury of the additional yield in Death Duties through the more perfect valuation of land which has resulted?
§ Mr. SPEAKERThat does not arise out of the original question.
§ Mr. SPEAKERYes, but I am foolish enough to go back sometimes.